


Hand Me Down Brother

by BudBrock



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Mikey, Dysfunctional Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Michelangelo (TMNT)-centric, Mikey-centric - Freeform, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Kung Fu Panda 3, Protective Michelangelo (TMNT), Reincarnation, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:41:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29865843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BudBrock/pseuds/BudBrock
Summary: Michelangelo awoke panting as if he just went five rounds with an enraged Raph.He remembers...he remembers everything...everyone...all of it.But what does this mean? Why now? Why not before?He wanted so badly to confide in one of his brothers, but not at the cost of the precious and precarious balance of peace his family fights to hold onto.
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 43





	1. Wake Me Up

It had been surprisingly easy for Mikey to get back in the swing of things and act like nothing had happened. Ever since he, “woke up” he’s been having trouble paying attention though, and not in the usual sense. Stray thoughts used to distract him easily. They were usually playful, harmless ideas or what-ifs that he entertained. But ever since last week…

Michelangelo’s thoughts have taken a turn to the more…depressing side of this whole ordeal. He was handling it well, at least he thought so. Re-living all your lives like a movie on fast forward wasn’t something a lot of people dealt with, but neither was being a mutant.

The amount of grief that he had awoken to nearly choked him. He remembered, dying, being alone, leaving them behind..... _I did it for them._ He had thought in the moment, that he was glad he was a turtle. Cause if he hadn’t been he was pretty sure he would’ve passed out from lack of oxygen before realizing he wasn’t breathing. Which could’ve given him away to his brothers and that was the last thing he wanted. If they had walked in to him passed out from stress, or worse, _hyperventilating_ , they would have known something was wrong immediately.

After his initial panic attack, and once he had calmed down and recognized the room he was in, Mikey had thought long and hard about whether or not he should tell his family about what he remembered. In the end, there were too many things that could go wrong.

If he told his Father first, and proved it, then the rest of the family would believe him-because they’d believe Splinter. But…what about his brothers?

If he told Leo…he’d want to know everything. He’d realize how old Mikey really was and get even more annoyed with him over his lack of focus and control. And what if he found out about Mikey being the leader of his other teams? He didn’t want his brother to laugh in his face and if he did believe him he didn’t want him freaking out about his past trauma.

And if Raph caught wind of it…Mikey didn’t know whether his hotheaded brother would go ballistic over what he went through, or if he’d flip and berate him on his stupidity. And then he’d probably make a snarky comment about how even after over a dozen different lives he’s still an idiot.

Donnie would…. _GOSH_ Donnie would probably ask him questions non-STOP. And then get frustrated cause he doesn’t want to answer, and it’s not like he wasn’t smart enough to answer the questions. But if he answered them the way his curious brother wanted them answered he’d question why and HOW Mikey got to be smart.

He’s always been smart…it’s just never mattered to him. Not like it does Donnie. He’s always been able to focus and read a situation, it just didn’t matter to him…as much as it does Leo. And his ninja skills are top notch. He’s more than strong enough to protect his brothers, it just…he didn’t want to take away what his brothers enjoyed doing. He didn’t want to take away what they thought made them special, made them important…made them feel _needed._

If Mikey was serious and lead the team, then what would Leo do? He’s their big brother…

If Mikey protected his brothers, took their hits, jumped first into battle, was the strongest…then what would Raph do? He’s their shield…

If Mikey showed off how smart he was, how easy it was to understand the Kraang’s language and tech, then what would Donnie do? He’s their brain…

So Mikey took to caring for his family where his brothers lacked. He was their heart, their emotionally stable rock. It’s the one thing he found, that his family would end up needing the most.

Leo bottled his emotions….Raph hid the more complicated ones behind anger so he could handle it…Donnie….Donnie thought too much and because of that big brain of his he’d get lost in his emotions if they were too much. Or he’d call them silly and refuse to believe that they existed. Which left Michelangelo to help them through hard times.

Now that Mikey had more time to think through everything, he was glad he could remember his past lives now. After all, he had more experience now that he could remember, with all kinds of things. Even things that didn’t technically exist yet-or anymore. And as a fully trained Ninja and Kung Fu Master, protecting his brothers just got a whole lot easier….as soon as he sets up a training room.

If any of his family or friends found him training he's certain they would start asking questions about why. He needed a place to train away from prying eyes and curious minds….he didn’t want to lie to them. He didn’t think he’d be able to do it. If it was life or death then it wouldn’t be a problem. Mikey could tell Master Splinter, to his face-looking him in the eye, that he was fine. So lying when needed was okay, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he wanted to tell them. He wanted them to know so he _could_ talk about it, he wanted so badly to confide in one of his brothers, but not at the cost of the precious and precarious balance of peace his family fought to hold onto.

The Foot, the Kraang, the Purple Dragons, Shredder, Karai, Donnie’s crush on April, his rivalry with Casey, Raph not feeling good enough, Leo overthinking all his mistakes-all these things amounted to a lot of stress. Michelangelo was not about to add to it. He would keep his mouth shut, so long as he could keep his brother’s from asking questions. Cause if one of them were to ask, he’d break for sure.

* * *

He had found a maintenance tunnel not far from the lair that was perfect for a training hall. He'd had to sneak out at night to go looking for it, and had to continue just so he could work on it. With his energy and powers restored it wasn't long before the training room was cleaned and ready to set up. That was one surprise he hadn't expected. There was really no reason he could think of for his past biologies to fuse with his current one. But they did and he wasn't complaining. He didn't need sleep as often because of it which left him free at "night" to work on things while his family was asleep and completely unaware. 

Mikey drew up plans for the training hall during the day under the guise that he was sketching. He planned on making it identical to the one at the Jade Palace. He even rigged a generator to take the place of the servants who made the whole thing run. Then it was just a matter of making a jury rigged version of an industrial Replicator and he was good to go. The machine capable of taking all the trash and junk the people around here threw away and turning into useful materials he could forge and craft with. What should have taken him months was reduced to two weeks thanks to his speed. He missed going this fast, he had always enjoyed the speed. When he was flying, warping, riding or free running with his bros...but to have his speed back. It felt amazing.

Mikey replicated some iron blocks and brought them over to the makeshift forge set up at the back of the tunnel. He had broken up the concrete to make a barricade and took an old maintenance pipe and welded it to the grate above the fire pit. That way the smoke could vent properly. Not that he needed oxygen anymore. And wasn't that weird, realizing you don't need to breath. He had to watch himself carefully. Just yesterday he discovered that fact when they had helped a few people out of the burning building. Mikey had found while his brothers were trying to stifle coughs from being inside for too long he had been fine...because he had held his breath and hadn't resumed breathing, until Donnie had asked to listen to his lungs. That was a close one. Even now as he heated up the metal waiting until it was an angry red before extracting it, he realized he wasn't actually breathing. If he didn't remember to at least pretend then it was going to give him away.

He pulled out a large hammer and began flattening one end. He wanted a basic sword to run drills with. Maybe if he could find a few chemical substitutes, he might be able to re-create his fire sword. Mikey smiled slightly to himself, he had missed this. The feeling of making something, feeling hot metal mold end bend to his commands. It was easier than constantly reprogramming the replicator to spit out specific parts rather than materials. Mikey wasn't sure how much the machine could handle, and he didn't want to test it. It was hard enough scrounging for parts to make it. He even had to take some things from Donnie. Not that his brother had time to realize the gems that were in his junk pile, let alone that they were gone.

Mikey felt bad for taking them, but it was more important to keep his brother safe, besides. Donnie had no idea what all could be done with the CPU board from a Kraangdroid and those guys were the only ones with tech advanced enough to make the devices he was familiar with. He could've gone top side to nab one himself but...he didn't want the Kraang thinking they were stealing tech on purpose now and give away that they knew what to do with it. Plus, it was a big if, to run across Kraang. Here in the tunnel he could feel his family's energy. He knew for a fact that Donnie had fallen asleep in his lab, that Leo and Master Splinter were in a deep sleep and Raph was snoring to high heaven. He wouldn't have that if he went top side.

This way he'll know when his family wakes up and if they decide to check on him. Mikey had just finished tempering the basic shape of the blade he wanted to make when he felt the warm pulse that signified his father was awake, then shortly after his older brothers cool and calming aura flared as well. Mikey paused in his work to just...bask in the feel of them. Knowing they were safe and content with the world around them. He was careful not to over reach and alert them to his own aura. It was difficult at first, to hide his spiritual- and then his physical- powers from his father, but he managed...mostly. He was pretty sure his father was aware at least to some extent of his awakening. But Mikey was pretty sure he thought it was a type of maturing of his spirit.

Either way, his work was done for now. It was time to head back to his family.


	2. Noodles

“BOOYAH!”

Raph rolled his eyes and waited for the ‘kasha’ part of his little brother’s strange outburst. He knew Mikey liked to prolong the weird word. But he didn’t. He just kept hopping from Kraangdroid to Kraangdroid with a smile on his face while every now and then releasing an errant giggle.

The older turtle barely dodged a bot in time before sticking his sais straight through the thing’s head. He couldn’t help the feeling that something was different about Mikey. When Raph turned around to look at his brother he was surprised to see that Mikey was frowning down at the bot he had just destroyed.

“What?” Raph raised an eye ridge. What was going through his head? Even on a good day Raph couldn’t guess. The only thing he could predict was Mikey’s movements, like when he’s going to run or push a button.

“Nothin’.” Mikey’s smile slid back into place, erasing any trace of his thoughts from his face that Raph had been trying to read. “I was just thinking about what to make when we got home. I was thinking pizza, but I used the last of the cheese in Sensei’s omelet this morning.”

“Come on. Before Leo calls us.” Raph didn’t buy it. The excuse sounded way too…thought out. But he let it go.

He and Mikey ascended the fire escape easily and took to the rooftops running all the while wondering if he should be worried about whatever it was his brother had on his mind.

* * *

He was only pretending to watch whatever was on tv. In reality Raph was tuned in to his little brother as he padded silently around the kitchen. Since when did it become so hard to hear Michelangelo’s footsteps? And his brother wasn’t listening to any music either. He was just humming a tune Raph had never heard before.

Raph shifted slightly as if to somewhat lay across the bean bag a little. It was a little far to truly see into the kitchen, but Raph couldn’t help but want to keep an eye on his baby brother. He glanced back casually, keeping an eye out to see if Mikey would be emerging anytime soon.

Most people wouldn’t know it, you had to grow up with Mikey to, but his littlest brother was actually the best at keeping secrets. The thing was, he knew Mikey didn’t like keeping secrets. It was the only reason they even knew about Bradford. So the fact that it felt like he was hiding something from them, really bothered Raph.

He couldn’t put his finger on why he knew, he just…knew. Something was up. The red banded turtle stood abruptly and made his way over to his brother’s lab. Raph would never tell a soul this, but he missed being close to his baby brother.

When they were little and just learning from their father, Leo had started taking every lesson to heart. And way too seriously. To the point that if Mikey had a nightmare, he wouldn’t let him sleep beside Leo anymore. But Raph would. He missed the closeness, not the octopus bed hog that Mikey was, but the fact that he used to trust him with anything. Now that trust shifted to Donnie, and if anything was bothering Mikey, he went to Don about it.

Raph will never admit this, but he was a little jealous. He stifled the emotion and knocked on the metal door frame to the lab. He went in when Donnie said so.

“What’s up?” Donnie had yet to lift his head up from typing, but Raph noticed his gaze shift lightly indicating that Donnie knew which brother he was talking to.

“Have you noticed anything bothering Mikey lately?” Raph crossed his arms. He didn’t want to beat around the bush.

Donatello paused and looked up from his computer. He frowned slightly in thought before answering. “No. Why? Has he said something to make you think he should?”

“No, it’s just…” Raph tried to find better words. “It..feels..like he’s hiding something.”

Donnie raised an eye ridge. “Feels? Do you have any physical evidence?”

Raph squashed down his frustration at Donnie and focused on why he was here, he was worried about Mikey.

“Something about the way he’s been acting just seems…off. Like he’s flying on auto pilot or something. Like, he’s all stiff and….fake. I guess.” He was looking anywhere but at his purple banded brother.

“Fake?” Donnie asked flatly. “What is that supposed to mean Raph?”

“I don’t know! You know I’m not good with words. I just….just talk to him alright? He talks to you. If it’s nothing, then it’s nothing.” Without waiting for a confirmation Raph turned briskly and stomped away from the lab.

* * *

Mikey lost himself in the motions of cooking. It was comfortable and familiar. Though half the time he started to notice that he was side stepping every now and then, as if to dodge a smaller person that should be dancing around him. And the realization hurt. A pang of longing hit him. He missed his family…all of them.

The warm smell of broth and noodles wafted through the air, the sound of a knife chopping vegetables on a wooden cutting board rang through the air distantly; Mikey swore he could hear a bell ring, which signified an order was ready for pickup.

He set down his knife and picked up the noodle dough that had been resting on the island. He threw down some flour on the counter and kneaded it slightly before stretching it, then folding it in half, then stretch, fold, pick up, bounce it off the counter, roll the ropes together, pick up, bounce it so it winds around itself. Bounce, fold, twist, bounce, fold, twist, then stretch them to unwind them, fold to double, stretch, fold, stretch, fold…

Mikey lost himself to the motions and rhythm of noodle making. He was dimly aware that his oldest brother was nearby, but the noodles held most of his focus. It’s been so long since he’s done it and with only three fingers, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to, but…He had caved into the desire to have his dad’s soup. He wanted a piece of familiarity so bad. He already had a lie set up if anyone asked.

The freckled terrapin was pleased to note that his noodles were forming from the dough nicely. He hadn’t lost his touch after all. Mikey smiled as he cut off a good number of noodles before tossing them into the pot of broth. He went back to the island, gathered up the dough and started the twisting and stretching process all over.

Bounce, fold, twist, bounce, fold, twist, bounce, fold, twist, stretch, double, stretch, double… “Where did you learn to do that?”

The voice of his oldest brother made him freeze. Mikey looked up suddenly to see his brother staring at him, a look of amazement on his face. He blinked once, fear coursing through him suddenly at being caught. As suddenly as it came, it disappeared behind an easy smile.

Mikey beamed at Leo. “Well, Raph was complaining about my pizza toppings, so I figured I’d make something else. You know, rub it in his face that I can cook, and he can’t. Except I don’t know a lot of recipe’s ( _Lie_ ) so I thought, soup can’t be that hard and I looked up a recipe and there was this guy who was doing this stretching, you know, thing with the dough to make noodles, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

He continued to stretch and unwind the noodles as he rambled on about the video he had seen, which was actually just the memory of his dad teaching him how to do it, but it felt good to share the memory with his brother. Not that Leo knew that, but he seemed to appreciate the knowledge that Mikey was sharing. After all, noodle making is an art.


	3. Slip Up

Leo sat quietly as he watched his little brother stretch and pull the dough into noodles. Somehow....Mikey had taken the time to explain it, but it didn’t really make sense to him. He was happy to watch him do it though. Leo just wished that his baby brother would put this kind of focus and attention on his ninjitsu training. He knew it wasn’t Mikey’s fault for not being able to focus, Donnie had explained it to him once. His purple banded brother was pretty sure Mikey had either ADD or ADHD, which meant his focus and attention were already stretched thin.

The only things that seemed to earn his hyper focus were things that also held his interests. Which their training did, but only to a certain extent. Not for the first time, the eldest wondered what Mikey would be like if he was as focused as himself, and then banished the thought. Even Master Splinter had said that, out of the four of them Michelangelo held the most, raw talent.

Leo watched as his brother stirred the rest of the noodles, he had just handmade into the pot of simmering broth and smiled gently. He had been meditating on this thought for a while now, and he found that he didn’t want any of his brothers to be like him. He loved them all just the way they were, pain in the shells and all. Especially Mikey, cause for some reason the thought of a serious Michelangelo just didn’t sit right with him. His brother had the right to be happy, especially with what they were having to deal with. Though he still wished he’d focus, maybe a little more, but he wouldn’t trade his brothers for the world.

“SOUP’S ON!” Mikey yelled out into the lair startling his brother.

He wasn’t always certain about the different concoctions his brother liked to make, but the smell coming from the pot, and the strange steaming container that his youngest brother had sat on the counter, were heavenly. Leo was definitely looking forward to trying whatever this soup was.

Their two other brothers came in after a few moments, Raph seemed tense and Don irritated. Though that melted away as soon as they caught a whiff of what was cooking.

“Oh man, that smells amazing!” Raph genuinely smiled and Leo bit back a laugh, just waiting for Mikey to start teasing his brother over the earlier insult about his cooking skills. But he didn’t…

“Raph’s right, this smells delicious Mikey. What did you make?” Donnie sat down beside Raph as he too smiled at Mikey. Leo just frowned slightly in confusion.

Master Splinter also walked in for dinner, sitting at the end of the counter calmly. “Yes Michelangelo, what have you made? It smells wonderful.”

“Oh, uh..” Mikey seemed unsure about how to answer which made Leo curious. He had been so happy to talk about what he was doing earlier. “I made some uh…secret ingredient soup, with some dumplings.” He mumbled halfheartedly.

The three brothers and even Master Splinter frowned at this strange show of bashfulness. Why would Mikey shy away from them suddenly? Especially since they all just complimented him. He was usually so quick to soak up any kind of attention. What was going on in that chaotically creative mind of his? Was something wrong?

“Secret ingredient soup?” Raph broke the silence. “Don’t tell me you put marshmallows or jellybeans in it.”

Mikey stared at his brother confused before shaking off the comment with a smile. As if he wasn’t just shying away from them a moment ago. “Ugh, no. And I’m not telling you what the secret ingredient is.” He looked from side to side as if looking for eavesdroppers before whispering loudly. “It’s a _secret_.”

He turned back around and quickly dished out five bowls of soup expertly balanced on one arm. He brought them over to the table and swiftly handed them out one handed. Mikey then took the top off the last dish to revealed steamed dumpling, which made their mouths water.

As soon as they tucked in Splinter had made it official, Friday’s are Secret Soup days. The brothers readily agreed as they quickly ate the portions they were given, and then seconds and then thirds. And all through dinner Leo had waited for Mikey to rib Raph about the comment he had made during whatever argument they had earlier. But he never did.

* * *

The training room was complete. Mikey had even tested it. His excitement was probably tangible as he turned the generator on to start up the Rolling Ropes and the Flame Floor. He cracked his knuckles and jumped straight into it.

He kept his balance easily dodging left to right as the spiked clubs swung around him in circling arcs. Steadily he made his way off before landing on the Tortoise Bowl. As much as he wanted to make it exact it’s extremely difficult to find jade and his replicator couldn’t make a piece big enough for carving, so he settled for a wooden one. He perched gently for a moment, usually this is when another warrior would land opposite of him to spar. But since he was running the training ground solo he merely found the sweet spot on the Tortoise Bowl in order to balance before moving on to the Wooden Warriors. These had become his favorite over time and the rhythm of blocking and attacking soothed him as he made his way through the rows and rows of Wooden Warriors to walk up and onto the Flame Floor.

He paused and closed his eyes, waiting for the telltale whistle of flame…. move. Wait, move, wait, it was a dance of patience. One he didn’t think he’d miss but he found himself smiling despite vivid memories of the first time he'd tried to do this. Though technically speaking that was a complete accident.

As Mikey stepped off of the training floor, he smiled ruefully to himself. “There are no accidents.” He mimicked Master Shifu.

Then he frowned in thought. _There are no accidents_.

He remembers for a reason, but why? Why would he need to remember one life let alone several others? Mikey sighed as he realized what he was going to have to do.

He needed to meditate, maybe he could get a hold of someone who actually knows.


	4. Tell Me Why

Donnie couldn’t keep his concentration on his project anymore. His mind kept wandering back to what Raph had said about Mikey acting weird. Well, weird for him. His red-banded brother had asked him to talk to Mikey and after a bit of thinking, he had been about to blow it off. But then he saw what Raph meant at dinner last night and after reconsidering all night he had decided on a plan to move forward today.

He worried about the youngest, Mikey was his only little brother after all. So, he went to Leo to talk about what was going on. As much as he wanted his baby brother to confide in him, he doubted he was going to. Which meant that Mikey’s older brothers were going to have to make a coordinated attack to solve what was going on.

He really wished it didn’t have to be this way. But Mikey could be just as stubborn as any of them when it came to the secrets he decided to keep. He didn’t keep many, Donnie had found that Mikey hated to. There was only one that he knew of that neither of his older brothers did and he was sure Mikey was never going to spill.

The purple banded looked toward the door of his lab where he saw both Leo and Raph waiting on him to say they could enter.

“You rang egghead?” Donnie rolled his eyes at the term before pushing away from his desk to address his brothers.

“I don’t know if you were already aware of this Leo, but Raph brought a concern to me and after thinking about I decided that perhaps we all should be aware of it. In fact, we all might be needed to uncover just what’s going on.” Donnie picked his words out carefully.

Leo stepped further into the lab. “What kind of concern Donnie?”

“Mikey’s acting weird, er, weirder.” Raph chimed in.

“Yes thank you Raph, I was getting to that.” Donnie frowned.

Leo sighed. “Does this have anything to do with your and Mikey’s argument?” He asked Raph.

“You didn’t tell me about that part.” Donnie glared at his brother.

Raph blinked at both of them before growling slightly. “I haven’t argued with the squirt for almost a week. And teasing doesn’t count!”

“Mikey said that you told him he couldn’t cook and that you insulted his choice of pizza toppings,” Leo informed both brothers. “That’s why he was making soup.”

“Not that I wouldn’t have said something like that, but I can’t remember the last time I talked to Mikey about his cooking. He’s lying about that.” Raph crossed his arms.

Leo rubbed his chin in thought. “That would explain why he never actually rubbed how good you said the soup was in your face. I had expected him to gloat about it all through dinner, and he hardly said anything.”

Donnie’s brow furrowed in worry at what he was hearing. “What on earth is on his mind? I don’t get it?”

“He really hasn’t come to you yet?” Leo asked surprised.

“No, I didn’t even know something was wrong until Raph pointed out. And if he hasn’t come to me by now, then it’s likely he won’t at all.” Donnie frowned and looked down at the floor. Something was wrong with Mikey, but with no way to know how serious it was neither brother knew if they should be worried.

“For now, then we’ll keep a closer eye on him, see if we can figure anything out. If we can do that, then maybe we can ask some questions.” Leo suggested and the other two readily agreed.

Leo didn’t know what was going on with his brother, but he hoped it wasn’t anything too serious.

* * *

The next day came and went for Mikey like normal. Well except for the fact that his brothers seemed to be paying closer attention to him for some reason.

 _Not some reason_ , he reminded himself, _you slipped up and just had to make dad’s noodle soup, didn’t you? What’s next? You gonna show them the Book of Dragons?_

Mikey rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the three sets of eyes that made him itch as they ran across the city in search of trouble. Tonight was thankfully peaceful and they did more training and running than any actual fighting. Though that just made Mikey suspicious, cause the Kraang and the Foot had to be up to something.

He hated waiting for the foot to drop, but as an old friend once told him. Doing nothing is also a type of Jing. Attack, Retreat, and Waiting. Wait for the perfect moment.

So he waited and waited until they were back home and he was in his room. It wasn’t uncommon for him to hide away early in his room. His brothers knew he liked to read his comics or draw before bed, so they didn’t think about it too much when he hugged them all and turned in early. At least they didn’t appear to.

In reality, Mikey sat down and readied himself for his first attempt to figure out just why he suddenly woke up. It was the first time in the month since it happened that he had actually thought about the why, and what to do about it.

He evened his breathing and calmed his heart. The first place to check was the Astral Plane, tomorrow he’ll check the Spirit Realm and if that didn’t work then he’ll have to reach out to the Spirit World itself. Either way, he crossed his fingers and hoped he’d find some answers.

* * *

Mikey was frustrated with his lack of success. He had come across a few spirits who were willing to talk to him but none of them knew him or any of his past lives. It’s been going on a week now, and between the lack of answers and his brothers scrutinizing his every move, Mikey was starting to get frustrated.

He was barely keeping himself from taking it out on his brothers. He knows they mean well, but he really doesn’t want them snooping. Luckily, the training hall has been put to good use, and construction for a dojo and meditation room are well underway.

All his meditations were coming up empty because no one on this side of reality knew him or anyone he’s asked about that he knew should at least be in the Spirit Realm. Which didn’t leave him a lot of options to figure out what and why except…to wait and train. So he did.

Mikey waited patiently, worked out his frustrations in the training hall, and sidestepped his brothers like crazy. He was doing pretty good, until…


	5. Overload

"Kraang, what is known as the operating grid is ready for the power core that Kraang calls the gem." The operating droid turned to the two others beside him.

"Kraang will retrieve what is known as the gem for Kraang." The first spoke before they both left to do what was asked of them.

When they returned they held out a large pink gem that glinted in the harsh lights of their laboratory. It was rather large as it barely fit into the Droid's hands. The first Droid took it carefully before walking slowly to the center of the room.

Set directly into the center of the lab sat a strange glowing cylinder. Comically, it looked a lot like two lava lamps; one with its base on the ground and the other with its base on the ceiling. In the center where they would have touched sat an empty container designed to house the large pink gem within the Droids hands.

"Now that the device known as the Central Operating Grid will be operational, Kraang will be able to defeat Kraangs enemies easily."

"Indeed Kraang." 

With that the Droid set the gem into the machine gently and waited for it to boot up. However, the Kraang failed to notice that the gem was beginning to glow on its own.

* * *

Donatello nearly spit his coffee out in surprise when several of his security alarms suddenly went off. The blaring sounds called his three other brothers into his lab as he shut the last one off.

"What's with all the noise Donnie?" Raph asked as he rushed in.

"From what I can tell...there was a massive explosion near the wharf. All my underground sensors went haywire with all the data! Not to mention all the cameras I had out looking for Kraang activity..." Donnie began muttering to himself as he shifted through the torrent of data his computers were sending him.

"Donnie," Leo waved a hand to get the brainiac's attention. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure exactly," His eyes roamed over the information again. "But from what I can tell, whatever the Kraang were working on backfired. Badly."

Raph crossed his arms. "How badly?"

"Blew up their entire base by the port badly." Don replied flatly.

The three brothers' eyes widened. Leo spoke up first. "Is that good for us?"

Don sighed before rubbing a hand across his eyes. "From what I can tell, yes. For New York right now? No. There's probably a crater near the harbor!"

Leo blinked and then nodded. "I'll turn on the news, see if I can find something."

"We're not going out?" Raph asked.

"No, there's no reason to. Not right now anyway." The blue banded leader walked past his brothers to head out of the lab. "We'll still patrol tonight, just nowhere near the docks."

"And why not?" The hot head got up in Leo's face. "Shouldn't we find out if the Kraang are up to something?"

"Yes, but not now. The wharf is probably swarming with Kraang and even if it isn't I doubt much survived the explosion. We'll check it out in a few days." Their leader answered calmly.

Raph grumbled slightly but walked away. Which left Mikey to stand by the door still thinking. Donnie typed away furiously at his keyboard and Mikey let the sound fade to a buzz in his mind as he thought about what Donnie said.

_Is this why I remember? Are the Kraang up to something so bad that they won't be able to stop them? Maybe, maybe not..._

Mikey wasn't about to jump to conclusions, but he wasn't going to ignore the nagging feeling that he had either. Despite what Leo said he had to disagree. Kraang didn't look after other Kraang. If what they were working on failed, then they'd scrub the sight of evidence and leave everything else behind.

But on the off chance they missed something, Mikey would find it. Decision made he silently left the lab behind; he'd investigate the sight tonight while his brothers were asleep.

* * *

Or not...

Patrol had been boring, the evening had wound down nicely and the night was clear. It should have been a good time to investigate. But for some reason his brothers had only grown more suspicious of him. To the point where they had started checking on him in the middle of the night. If he had to guess, they were probably trying to figure out whether or not he was having nightmares.

_It's been a week and they're still doing it..._

It made him smile to think about it. His brothers care for him deeply, to the point that they knew something was up with him. He should have known it wouldn't be easy to hide this from them. But he still wasn't going to tell. At least, he didn't plan on it. But life rarely goes according to plan and Mikey was prepared to tell them if it became necessary. Didn't mean he wanted to though.

Warm and fuzzy feelings aside, his brothers checking on him randomly through the nights was making it difficult to get anything he needed done. Which left him in his room pretending to sleep. They even had a schedule figured out. Donnie would check in before his graveyard shift of a bedtime, then Raph would get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break and stop by and then Leo would peek in during the wee hours of the morning before starting his own day.

The first night had been nail biting. Donnie had caught him out of bed and he had to make up some lame excuse about not being able to sleep. He had insisted there were no nightmares, but Donnie had made him some tea and sent him back to his room. Great.

Right now he just sat on the couch, not doing much of anything except pretending to watch Crognard while trying to think of a way to escape the scrutiny. The tell-tale tingle of eyes on him made his skin prickle. He could tell by the warm presence it was Raph, his hotheaded brother seemed to be hovering lately. Not that he'd admit it. Of his three brothers Raphael seemed the most convinced that whatever was wrong was something bad.

Mikey's heart swelled knowing his older brother loved him. But it was starting to become a problem and boy he didn't think that would ever happen.

"What's up Raph?" By the way his brother shifted behind him, Mikey knew he had startled him. Mikey berated himself. _Stop it stupid! They don't know you can do that!_

Raph came down into the pit and sat beside his little brother. "How long you been watching this stupid show?"

He had to smile as Raph grumbled, trying to sound irritated. "Just a joor or so." It took a solid minute for Mikey to realize he had said that out loud. _Slag-I mean shi...poopy..._

"What's a joor?" Raph looked at him quizzically and it surprised Mikey that he had asked instead of just making fun of him. Wow, his brother must be really worried if he was reading into every little thing he was doing and saying.

"Uh...well," The truth wouldn't hurt in this instance, as long as he didn't say too much. "It's about...an hour?"

"What's about an hour?" Donnie looked up from his T-Phone to ask.

"Apparently a joor is." Raph retorted.

Donnie blinked, unsure of what to do with that information. He looked at Mikey who seemed to shift uncomfortably like he was trying to hide. Quickly flipping open his note app Donnie wrote typed out "a jore is an hour" underneath "knows how to professionally make noodles" and "isn't sleeping" in his Mikey Notes.

Mikey hated the silence so he grabbed the remote and turned the tv volume up. He even threw a laugh or two in to make his brothers think he was engrossed in his show. He really doubted he fooled them.


	6. Suspicions

They were getting nowhere with their brother. Other than the few observations Donnie had noted for them, they couldn't seem to figure anything out. Leo had initially thought Mikey was having nightmares, which would explain the hiding and far off expression. So he had set it up for them to check in with their youngest in the hopes of catching him red handed.

Now he was even more worried. Everytime they checked on him they would find Mikey laying in bed, breathing peacefully and unnaturally still. They used to share a bed when they were little and they all knew from experience that Mikey was a starfish on a good night and an octopus on a bad one. He was never still or quiet in his sleep. He's always moving, twitching, mumbling, dreaming...

He had to be pretending. That was the only thing that made sense. Michelangelo had to be pretending to be asleep. But he didn't appear to be sleep deprived. Which meant he was doing this on purpose, for a reason. That's when Donnie had suggested that maybe he was waiting on them to go to sleep so he could sneak out and then explained how he had caught Mikey the first night out of bed. So for the next three nights they had waited in their own beds for Mikey to sneak out, straining their ears for any noise. But he didn't leave.

Then Raph had said maybe Mikey could tell when they were awake or asleep. Leo had laughed at the idea, but then Raph said "I can prove it."

They watched from the door of the lab as Raph silently crept out into the main area and near the pit. He hid well and even Leo had a hard time hearing his movements. Mikey was oblivious as he sat in the middle of the bean bag pile humming to himself with his sketchbook in his lap. Or at least his brothers thought he was oblivious. Raph hunkered down by the pit hiding, he wasn't even looking at Mikey, and after a few minutes their littlest brother broke the silence.

"Hey Raph, what's up?" Mikey didn't even turn around and yet he correctly identified which brother had been sneaking around him.

"Nothing...was just thinking about something." Their red banded brother stood up and sauntered back to the lab.

Raph smirked at his two gaping brothers and Leo could see the words 'I told you so' in his eyes. Which left Leo with more questions than answers and Donnie immediately pulled out his phone to make a note. Since when had his baby brother become so sensitive to the world around him? Had he always been and they just didn't notice? Had he always been dealing with things on his own? How long had he been sneaking out? Cause there was no denying that that's exactly what Leo thought his brother was doing now. He was sneaking off to do something he didn't want his family to know about.

"If he knows when we're awake and when we're asleep, then how do we prove he's sneaking out?" Leo wondered out loud.

"Easy," Donatello sat in his chair and pulled up a few screens on his computer. "I installed a few more cameras around the lair and surrounding tunnels. Tonight while we're asleep, they'll catch Mikey in the act." He smiled back at his brothers.

Raph grinned. "Donnie, you're a genius."

* * *

Mikey knew he shouldn't have acknowledged that Raph was behind him. He had known the moment his hot tempered brother had left the lab, but he had only been half paying attention to his brother's movements. It wasn't until after Raph had gone back to the lab to join his other two brothers that Mikey realized that it had been a trick to prove that Mikey was aware of their presence.

_Well frag me...they're probably in the lab right now trying to figure out what it all meant..._

He didn't want to eavesdrop on them, he knew they were only worried. But their curiosity was going to be the end of him. Mikey wanted to break down so bad. He wanted to run to Leo and explain everything, that for once he wasn't the Chosen One, the one in charge, the great Hero or Warrior that had to fix everything. That he loved them, that he loved feeling free enough to be his stupid self without having to be smart, or in control, or the best, or the toughest, or....

The sigh that escaped him made him sound old. Technically he was old, very old, but physically he was almost seventeen and he wanted to hold on to the last few years of childhood he had. Besides, his brothers shouldn't have to worry about stuff that's already happened, it's all in the past. There's nothing they could do to change it, or make it better. Just like back then, Mikey will just have to forgive and forget and simply move on.

But if his brothers found out...Leo would be worried about how he'd handle their battles. Raph would be furious about how he'd been treated and all the times he had almost died...and then actually died. And Donnie....he'd ask so many questions, and some of them would be so uncomfortable to think about.

_Why do you call it a joor? You were a techno organic life form?! How exactly does your projected weapon work? How do you fuse with someone? What's a Prime? What's it like to move at the speed of sound? How did you make this sword? What's the chemical compound of the substances used to ignite the blade? How extensive is your healing ability? How? When? Why?_

Mikey was getting riled up and lost in memories just thinking about it. It wasn't the first time, nor the last, that he wished he had future vision. Or at least a sapphire. Maybe then he'd have a better idea on where to go from here.

"Mikey." He looked up at Leo. "It's time for patrol." 

He nodded at his brother and jumped up from the pit to follow his team out. At least they hadn't banned him from going topside.

* * *

Donnie led the way toward the wharf, scanner out and eyes peeled the whole way. Tonight they'd look at the blast site and see if the Kraang had left anything behind. All three still held varying degrees of their attention on the youngest who had for the last month been silent when on runs. The only time MIkey seemed to run his mouth anymore was when they were engaged in battle. At that point it was mostly taunts and laughs.

Leonardo would have been over the moon at the level of maturity that his youngest brother seemed to have gained, if it hadn't seemed to come at a cost. He was more than willing to wait for the day that Mikey mellowed out enough to take things a little more seriously. Mostly because he didn't want his little brother to change. He was their light in the dark of the sewer, the life and bursting personality of their family and Leo wouldn't trade that for anything. But it seemed he didn't have a choice. Mikey had gone and grown up behind their backs and it scared him.

Raphael worried for a different reason. He agonized over the loss of trust from his baby brother and he never thought he'd miss his pranks. After a month without them, with nothing to do but think and worry about his brother, he was high strung and ready to snap. But he calmed himself the best that he could, with some extra venting and a few rounds with his punching bag. The last person he wants to snap at, is his freckled little brother. He had never put this much thought into anything before, he's happy punching things first and then maybe asking questions. His family means everything to him though and he'd be damned if he did something stupid to hurt any of them. Especially Mikey.

Donatello was concerned on a number of levels. His brain raced as they leapt across the rooftops toward the wharf. His only younger brother puzzled him to no end, he always has. But usually it was a good thing. Michelangelo was entertaining, energetic, jovial, boisterous, the epitome of joy and goodwill. And somehow those traits had been...tempered? Mellowed? Suppressed? Dimmed? He was finding it hard to find the correct word to use to describe how Mikey had changed. To the untrained eye, nothing was different. April and Casey hadn't noticed or suspected a thing. But Donnie could tell, his little brother had lost a touch of his wildness, his...unpredictability, his....pizazz. Whatever was going on had Donnie worried for Mikey's mental state among many other things. He wished Mikey would come to him.

Soon enough they ran out of roof as they came to the wharf. After that it wasn't hard to spot where the Kraang's base had been. The building had been leveled leaving nothing but ragged debris scattered for hundreds of feet around where the base should have been.

They jumped down and into the middle of the site. Leo was on high alert, looking out for any signs that they might be seen. Raph was as well and while Leo went left, he went to the right to keep a lookout. Donnie scanned the area with his handheld device and Mikey...

Leo watched curiously as Mikey seemed to pick up random pieces of debris and look at them closely. He then walked determinedly to a spot where a solid concrete support beam had landed. Rebar stuck out of the top of it, bent at an odd angle and Mikey seemed very interested in it. Curiosity took over and he walked up to his brother. He absently noted that Raph had done the same and Donnie, finished with his scan, was headed over as well.

Mikey was crouched, eyes trained on the bent rebar. Leo couldn't fathom why the metal held his brother's attention so fiercely.

"What is it?" He was hoping the question was general enough to get him an answer. And Michelangelo did not disappoint.

"This wasn't an explosion." He stated simply. "There's no evidence of a fire. No heat. Nothing. If it'd been an explosion then where's the soot? Where's the scorch marks? Why is the metal bent and not warped? An explosion of this size should have left a crater and yet the ground is still here, but the building isn't."

None of his brothers seemed to have an answer for these observations. All three looked around and found Mikey was right. There were no black scorch marks from flames. The metal rebar wasn't the only metal around, let alone the only metal that was bent.

"Look at this," Mikey pointed to what looked like a mangled mess of metal pipes. "This cross support is completely mangled. If this place had exploded, then the fire should have been hot enough to leave this melted. At least partially."

Donnie looked around the rubble, and after a few calculations, had to agree. An explosion of this magnitude would have been unbearably hot and would have likely incinerated anything too close.

"So if it wasn't an explosion," Raph said very carefully. "What did this?" They all sat quietly, mouths shut tight, waiting for Mikey to continue.

"My guess?" Mikey stood up and looked around. "They weren't experimenting with a what, they were experimenting with a who." He walked away from them and towards the outer edge of destruction. "See how symmetrical the damage is?" He walked along the outskirts to show how it formed a perfect circle. "It's unnatural. With an explosion it would have blasted out one side, the weakest, blowing the debris in mostly one direction. Instead everything is evenly spread out within a perfect radius as if...as if someone sent a concussive blast like..."

Mikey held his hands to his chest, then pushed them outward and away from him. "Like they used a force field to blast their way out." 

Leo, Raph and Donnie stared at him blinking owlishly. Leo turned to Donnie and gave him a look as if to say 'Is it possible?'. The look Donnie shot them back screamed, 'More than possible, I think he's right'.


	7. Repercussions

Mikey was afraid to turn around and face his brothers. It was so stupid. He should have just kept his mouth SHUT. Now he had practically given himself away. The young turtle had spent most of his life taking a backseat to his brothers in just about every area of talent in his life, by choice of course. Ninjitsu, fighting, intelligence, observation, spiritual awareness...and he was content to play dumb. He considered it his job by now; the only time he should step up is when it's needed. And sounding smarter than Donnie was definitely not needed right now.

The next thing he knows Leo will look at him like he's got three heads, Raph will call it dumb luck and laugh at him like he was trying to sound smart. Donnie...Donnie would feel like he wasn't important anymore. Forget that Mikey was nowhere near the genius his brother was, creativity is a different kind of big brain function, he'd feel like Mikey was trying to take his place. Which he would never do! Donnie's special, and he deserves to feel important and needed.

Despite not wanting to, he swallowed down his panic and turned around.

* * *

Each brother desperately wanted to know what was going on in the youngest's mind. Michelangelo was tense, as if waiting to be punished for speaking out of turn. Leo couldn't help but wonder. Is this what he's trying to hide? Is he so afraid of showing himself, of telling us his thoughts that he'd rather pretend to be a dumb and immature kid? Did we push him to do this? To hide himself away behind a mask?

Donnie ran through what Mikey had said over and over in his mind. Nothing was amiss, his theory was solid and his observations were astute. In short, he was right and Donatello agreed with him but...he couldn't stop the thoughts ringing through his mind. Was Mikey always this intelligent? Why had his brother never shared his thoughts with him before? It's not like Mikey had never been capable before, so why should now be any different? He's excellent somehow with Kraang tech, that should have been a clue. And he was amazing in Dimension X. The fact that Mikey was capable of observing a scene and extrapolating data shouldn't surprise them.

Raph held back a snort. He was about to scoff and brush off what his little brother was saying when he took a look around for himself and realized he was right. He frowned in thought. Was this why Mikey didn't talk to him? Was it because he would laugh at him first instead of listen? No wonder he always went to Donnie. Except he was acting like they were going to go after him, like he had done something wrong. That broke Raph's heart; his little brother shouldn't be cowering from them.

When Mikey turned around, a small tentative smile on his face, the brothers quickly schooled their expressions. Internally Leo told himself to treat this like it was normal; he didn't want Michelangelo to feel like he did something wrong. So he approached his brother and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Good work Mikey." The leader then turned to Don. "Did your scan turn up anything?" Both brothers followed the oldests' lead and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Actually, yes. This site still has residual amounts of energy I've never seen before. I have a strange power spike on my scanner. With a little recalibrating I should be able to track what, or whoever the Kraang held here." As he spoke Donnie fiddled with his scanner. "Looks like it's on the move and still in the area."

"We going after it?" Raph absently twirled his sais.

Leo looked around at the carnage that used to be a Kraang facility. "Only for observation. I don't want to engage with anything, or anyone that can do this kind of damage. Not without a solid plan."

With a nod they all took off again, following their second youngest somewhat back the way they came. Leo could still feel some tension coming off of his youngest brother. His worries grew with every thought, and every idea he could come up with about what Mikey was hiding from them.

Raph continued to mull over his dark thoughts. He never wanted his brothers to fear him and despite his temper he had been happy to know that they didn't. At least Mikey hadn't, he hadn't been afraid to rile Raph up himself and then take some rough housing. And suddenly he regretted everytime he had ever smacked his little brother around. Was this another nail in his coffin? Another reason why Mikey didn't trust him? Because he knew how he'd react? Raph growled lightly to himself; Mikey always knew how he was going to react, with everything. It's how he pulled his pranks. How's he going to fix this?

Donnie hummed to himself as he tried to think of a way to get Mikey to open up. Maybe if he included him in his more mild experiments? He had never shown interest before, but then again he was often telling his brother, all of his brothers, that they wouldn't understand what he was working on. That obviously wasn't fair of him. Here he had proof that with some teaching Mikey had the ability to grasp the basic concepts of most sciences and yet he had given up trying to explain things to his brothers a long time ago. Why? Because he didn't have the patience back then, but knowing what he does now about Mikey's ADHD, it wasn't his fault he couldn't sit still. What was it Sensei once said? A students responsibility is to be willing to learn, but it is the teacher's responsibility to help them. 

Giving up on him, wasn't helping him. Well, no matter what Donnie wasn't going to give up on his brother now. Not because of this new side of him they hadn't seen before, but because he was Mikey. Their brother has never given up on them. He's always been there, always stepped up when needed. It was their turn now to step up and be what Mikey needed.

His scanner began screeching at him which made them all stop. They all looked around carefully, each on high alert. The night air was still, and being it was New York, far from quiet. But that was just background noise. They strained their ears deciphering and discerning the sounds that surrounded them.

"Alright, split up, one block radius. We meet back here in five." Each brother gave Leo a nod before separating.

* * *

Michelangelo had no idea what they were looking for as he flew across the rooftops. Of all the things he was thinking this wasn't it. He figured it would be an escaped experiment or perhaps some poor soul the Kraang had captured like April's father. However the familiar pulse of Gem energy nearly tripped him from surprise and he flailed slightly to keep his balance. He slid to a stop, stilling instantly in shock. A Gem? Is that who they Kraang had been experimenting with? It made sense, the damage the building had sustained had looked familiar. But what kind of Gem could do that?

He sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly, extending his mental and spiritual awareness to the surrounding area. Where are you? Who are you? And how did you get here? 

Portals...of course. The Kraang have been hopping dimensions for years. Naturally they'd be curious about Gems. Mikey shook his head and focused on the energy.

There, two alleys down. The Gem was hunkered down and away from the world trying to hide. Looks like tonight's about to get complicated. He sighed and hopped down to street level before making his way towards where the Gem was hiding.

The alley was dark and nondescript as every other alley in New York. Except for the tell tale pink glow coming from behind the far dumpster. He walked forward slowly and carefully not wanting to startle the...Rose Quartz? Pink Agate? Or maybe it was....

Mikey's mind blanked as he came face to face with a...well a face he hadn't seen in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll are snuffing out some of the other fandoms I've made references to, and it is hilarious! I love it.
> 
> But you've only guessed 2. I've alluded to 5
> 
> Good luck finding them ;) (No, I'm not going to right them in the tags, it would ruin the surprises when I write other stories about them)


	8. Hello Again

Mikey stared wide eyed at the translucent figure crouched in front of him. The figure, eerily silent, held no expression as he gazed back.

It was him. 

Well more accurately, it was Steven. Eh, Diamond Steven; who happened to look exactly as he had before all of....this. 

Slowly, his Diamond self rose to his feet and stared down at him. Had he really been that tall? His mass projection had him by not only a head, but shoulders as well. Mikey quickly put his hands up to show he meant no harm since he didn't think his Gem half would recognize him.

The fact that his Diamond self had just summoned his shield was a good indicator. He wasn't proud to admit that he and himself hadn't...parted on good terms. But maybe, he could still reconnect with himself? Then again his organic half had been the peacekeeper of the two. Though they were usually in agreeance, his Gem half mainly operated on emotion and instinct. Speaking of which, he had to back up as his Gem half marched forward, still looming over him.

"Wait," This was going to be a long shot. "It's me....I mean you...us....Steven." That made Pink him stop. "At least you remember our name." Mikey smiled nervously. "But honest it's me, your organic half."

His former face was like stone and he didn't budge. But at least he was standing still; ceasing his advancement.

"I can prove it." He made sure to keep his hands out and in front of him. "You remember where we're from? Beach City, and our favorite place to pick up something sweet's The Big Donut." The shield disappeared as his Gem half backed up a bit.

"Yeah, you remember our home, our family. The Crystal Gems, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and the others we became friends with later. Bismuth....well actually I made friends with Lapis first, then Peridot and then Bismuth....after the whole...Breaking Point _thing_."

Mikey was looking at the ground now, lost in memories he hadn't voiced in ages.

"We didn't have many friends who weren't Gems. I mean there was Sadie, Lars...kinda, Kiki, Sour Cream, Onion...Buck, Petey, Co-" His voice broke but he forged ahead with a whisper. " _Connie_...she was my first friend. We did everything together. Almost everything...she learned how to use mom's sword, just for me. Because she wanted to be able to help me in a fight." Mikey smiled gently. "Remember how we used to play music together? Me with my ukelele and her with her violin." He huffed a quiet laugh. "Jam Buds..."

Tears were streaming down his face now and he had no intention of stopping them. He nearly jumped though when a glowing pink hand gently wiped them away. He looked back up at his mass projection and was surprised to see slight concern on his face. Without hesitation he pulled Pink Steven into a hug. After a few moments he hugged himself back.

Michelangelo could feel the warmth radiating from his Gem half and he smiled at the familiar feeling of fusion as he was reunited with a piece of himself he's lived without for a long time. He could feel it in his soul as his Gem slid into place on his plastron. He was a little closer to being whole; He smiled to himself, his arms wrapped around his frame as warm and comforting memories flashed through his mind's eye. Mikey swore he even heard Garnet's voice echo in his ears...

_'Oh, Steven...we already love you.'_

Reality crashed back in far sooner than he wanted and for a moment he worried that his Gem would show. When he looked down he noticed that his belt perfectly hid it from sight, so long as it didn't move. Now he just had to make sure his brothers didn't catch a glimpse of his new...' **bling** '. _Yay_.

* * *

Donatello looked back down at his scanner in confusion. The signal had just vanished. Did it go underground? Did it go in somewhere? Had the Kraang beat them to it? If it was a person, are they still alive or...

There were too many scenarios and no clues to indicate what happened, so speculation at this point was unwise. Their search time was up anyway, it was time to head back. Looks like this was a dead end. They'll just have to keep a lookout for further activity.

Three of the brothers met back up at the appointed roof. They passed around a look, each worried for their absent youngest. Before Leo could say anything however Michelangelo joined them. He didn't say anything, he merely approached them and waited for news. The other brothers shifted slightly but didn't question him.

"Did anyone find anything?" Leo brought their attentions back to what they were supposed to be doing.

"Nothing." Raph grunted.

"I lost the signal. So we won't be able to track it or them anymore." Donnie holstered his scanner with a frown.

"Mikey?" Leo asked and the orange banded terrapin found all eyes on him.

"Nothing. Unless some new graffiti counts." Mikey shrugged.

Leonardo sighed lightly before continuing. "Well, there's still some time for patrol. You guys up for it?"

* * *

Finally, some peace and quiet. Perfect for sneaking out. The brothers were finally asleep and Mikey seriously hoped that they'd given up on the whole nightmare idea. Not that he wanted them snuffing out any actual odd goings on. But now he could finally get back to the maintenance tunnel.

He hopped the turnstiles quietly and took off like a rocket, speeding through the underground. Unbeknownst to him there were motion sensors and cameras set in the tunnels in a three mile radius around the lair tracking his movements. Curtousy of a certain tech brother. And as they say ignorance is bliss.

Mikey slowed and stopped on a dime in front of where the door used to be. He walled it over on purpose and matched the color of the brick almost perfectly. Now to get in you had to twist a valve above your head to activate the door, which would slide to the side and allow entry. He smiled as he stepped into his newly made domain. It was far from finished. He just needed a weapons room, meditation room, maybe a store room for his materials, maybe a temple or place of remembrance...


	9. Talent vs Dedication

Donatello rolled out of bed, dressed slowly and made his way out and into the main area. He noticed Leo in the kitchen calmly drinking tea as Mikey made breakfast. Raph had planted himself in the pit, pretending to read his sports magazine. He waltzed passed them and into his lab, nothing suspicious about that. Nothing about their behaviour should tip their youngest off at all. Everything is normal.

He sat down and tried to contain his excitement. Just because they finally slept, giving Mikey ample opportunity to sneak out again, doesn't mean he did. When the notification from the tunnel sensors and cameras showed up on Donnie's desktop though, he couldn't help but smirk to himself. 

"I got you, now let's see what you've been up to Mikey." He mumbled to himself as he pulled up the recorded feed. He played the video and frowned. "This can't be right..." He had programmed the cameras to time stamp the recording ten seconds before to ten seconds after the sensors were tripped, but...

"There's nothing here...how could he possibly..." Irritated he played the recording over, and over, and over and over and...wait. He played it one more time when he noticed a small smear of green streak on and off the screen so fast that if you'd blink you would miss it.

Pulling up the controls for the video, he slowed it down to a quarter of it's speed. But the blur was still just, a blur. He slowed it down some more, just a little more just a little...crap. Donnie frowned and nearly slammed a fist down on his desk. The video continued to play, as slow as he could make it.

Huffing in exasperation he broke the video down frame by frame and was finally rewarded with a picture of his little brother. He pumped a fist in excitement before he realized...the picture showed Mikey in a full blown sprint, arms pumping legs extended in opposite directions.

"How fast is he going?!"

* * *

Donnie had to wait until after morning practice to show his other two brothers what he had found. Even with the video proof he was having a hard time believing his little brother capable of...the IMPOSSIBLE. He had to rethink that thought as he eyed Michelangelo sparring with Leo across the room. And he smiled, because Mikey was all about doing the impossible. He held no worries about interfering as they hadn't faced the Kraang in months, well before these changes and his biometrics from his last checkup were a perfect match. So how had Mikey figured out how to run at the speed of sound?

"Come on Leo, catch me if you can." Their orange banded brother danced around, light as a feather, just out of Leonardo's reach every time.

The oldest huffed before renewing his efforts to try and pin the freckled terrapin down. For Mikey however, he just laughed and hummed along to a song none of them had heard before. Donnie couldn't help but smile and he noticed Raph, and surprisingly Leo, were too. At least their little brother still had some humor left in him.

"I can't help it if I make a scene~steppin' out in my hot pink limousine~." As Mikey sang and danced away he noticed Leo wasn't even trying to catch him anymore. He was just flat out smiling. This was the Mikey they knew. The goofball.

"I'm turning heads and I'm stopping traffic~ when I pose they scream and when I joke they laugh~," He spun and danced as if nobody was watching, dancing the cheesiest dance choreography Don had ever seen. "I've got a~pair of eyes that they're getting lost in~hypnotized by the way I'm walkin'~." 

Normally they covered their ears when MIkey sang, but...he actually sounded really good. Was this something else he hid from them? Why? Why sound bad on purpose? Why hide a talent? The more they seemed to uncover, the less it all made sense.

"I've got them dazzled like a stage magician~when I point they look and when I talk they listen, well~." Mikey back flipped over his brother's head landing behind him and kicked Leonardo's feet out from under him. Leo managed to roll away from him before Mikey tried to pin him. "Everybody needs a friend~and I've got you and you and you~so many I can't even name them~can you blame me I'm too famous~."

Michelangelo's attacks became rapid fire as he followed Leo across the room, putting his older brother on the defensive. And he hasn't even drawn his own weapons yet, they were still holstered. Donnie glanced back at his Sensei and was surprised to find him thoroughly intrigued by the fight. Usually he would have stopped Mikey from singing by now, but...for whatever reason the youngest's actions had also caught their father's attention.

"Haven't you noticed that I'm a star~I'm coming into view as the world is turning~," Mikey ducked under a swipe from Leo, then to everyone's amazement, grabbed Leo's wrist in an unfamiliar hold causing him to lose his grip on his sword...which Mikey then took and used to block another blow from Leo. "Haven't you noticed I've made it this far~."

With a flick of his wrist Leo's other katana seemed to leap out of his hand and into the air. They all watched as Mikey landed a solid kick to Leonardo's chest which knocked him flat on his shell. "Now everyone can see me burning~." 

Mikey caught the other katana and held them, crossed, right at Leo's neck to prevent the other from getting up. The whole family stared slack jaw at what just happened, and with wide eyes the youngest realized what he had done. The two katana dropped from his hands and clattered to the floor startling Michelangelo into action.

"I'm so sorry....I...uh," He bent over and quickly retrieved his brother's weapons. "I didn't mean to...here." He awkwardly handed a still gaping Leo back his swords before offering him a hand up. Leo took it, unsure of what to think.

The other two brothers were in a similar spot. Donnie's mind was working overtime trying to figure out how he had done that. Most of the moves he had used, Don hadn't ever seen before. Where did he learn them? Bradford? Leatherhead? Some other new 'friend'? Is that where he's sneaking off to? 

"That will be enough for today." Splinter's dismissal pulled him from his thoughts. They all bowed out of respect as they faced their Master. "Michelangelo," Said brother tensed at hearing his name. "I would like to speak to you. Alone." 

Not wanting to get in trouble for hanging around the other three looked away and quickly walked out of the dojo. Now was the perfect time for Donnie to talk to Leo and Raph; he pulled out his phone to tell his brothers to meet him in his lab, he had something to show them.


	10. Favoritism

Splinter stood patiently, waiting for his youngest to approach him. He had hoped in the last month since Michelangelo's spiritual awakening that he would have come to him. Or at the very least, one of his brothers. His usually bright and exuberant son was not one to keep things to himself, he liked to talk too much for that. 

He stroked his beard in thought as the freckled turtle walked toward him slowly, as if afraid. He found his ears flattening against his head. First his son bottles his new secrets and now he's walking on eggshells? Mikey stood before him, head bowed and eyes on the floor. 

"You wanted to speak to me Sensei?" His voice was a soft whisper. Splinter frowned now at the sound of trepidation coming from his son.

"You are not in trouble Michelangelo." He answered softly, trying to sooth his child. "I simply wish to speak with you." He watched his son intently, noticing how his fingers twitched and his weight shifted.

"About what?"

"About your awakening." At those words his son's head shot up in alarm. He stared at him wide eyed, mouth open in shock.

"H-how did you..." Mikey swallowed nervously.

"You think I could not tell how much you have grown spiritually in the last month?" Splinter wanted to chuckle. For all the prowess his son had learned in keeping him out and distanced from him spiritually, he hadn't realized that he was still aware of him.

"I...no Sensei I just..." His son played with his fingers and looked back down again. Splinter fought the urge to sigh. This wasn't how he thought this conversation would go. He wanted his son to tell him, not force the answers out of him. He wanted his son's trust...which he clearly didn't have.

Coming to that realization had hurt, deeply. All of his son's should feel free to talk and ask him things. He thought that perhaps they were falling out of this habit because they were teenagers, though Leonardo and Michelangelo still came to him occasionally. But now perhaps, there were other reasons...

"I do not wish to shame you, my son. Nor do I wish to force you to tell me everything." Reaching out slowly he caressed his youngest's cheek lovingly. Mikey looked up at his father with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "I simply wish for you to come to me with what is bothering you. I do not know much aside from your heightened skill, and that you have been sneaking out at night."

Michelangelo was quick to defend himself. "I'm only a few tunnels over. I don't go topside at all! Promise!"

Splinter frowned. "It is not the sneaking out I am concerned about. I know you haven't gone far." His son furrowed his brow in confusion. "My son...why did you not tell me?"

"Huh?" Mikey straightened, looking at his father with a frown.

"Michelangelo why, when you awakened and discovered your new power, did you not come to me. I understand your need for privacy. You are a growing boy...it has been over a month and yet you have not come to me or any of your brothers."

After a few moments of staring, what his son did and said next felt like a bucket of ice water to his face. He brushed his father's hand off his face and stepped back and away from him.

"Honestly?" Michelangelo spoke his next words as if he never expected to say them aloud. "I didn't think you'd care."

Splinter's eyes widened and his heart constricted. "Of course I care! I will always care for you, you are my son!" His outburst seemed to startle the young turtle making him back further away from his father.

"I know you _care_ , I just meant..." His son held himself as if trying to find comfort. "I meant that, you wouldn't really care to hear about it. I mean, you'd be happy about how much better I am at things, but I...I just didn't think you wanted to _know_..."

Is that what he thought? That his own father did not care enough to listen to him when he wanted to talk? That he did not care enough to want to know about him? That he did not care enough to want to hear about his interests, his thoughts or his opinions? Of course he wanted to, but he did not want to force them to. He cherished every moment his sons spent with him, they are his world.

"What made you think this way?" Master Splinter whispered hoarsely. Mikey blinked in confusion and gave him a look that said 'well that should be obvious'. It made him feel ignorant of his own family.

"I'm not...I'm not _Leo_." The simple statement was said as if it should make sense, but it didn't.

"No, you are not Leonardo. You are _Michelangelo_." He tried stepping closer to his youngest but subconsciously Mikey kept backing away. "I fail to see what this has to do with our discussion."

Mikey snorted and the sound held no humor. "We all know Leo's your favorite. You two sit and talk for _hours_. He likes all the same stuff you do and really, I don't blame you. He's always been the best behaved, the best student...you know; It's kinda hard to compete with that. I stopped caring about it a long time ago though so..." He shrugged.

Ears pinned to his head and eyes wide, Splinter stared at his son in horror. Is this what all of his son's thought? That he favored one over the others? Well it was true he was closer to Leonardo, that was only because his oldest sought him out the most. This problem needs to be remedied quickly.

Stepping close to his youngest, before he had a chance to slip away, he grabbed and held his son's face in his hands tenderly before pulling him into a hug. He stroked the back of his head and leaned down to speak in his ear.

"Never think that Michelangelo. You are all my sons and I love each and every one of you fiercely." Feeling his son's arms wrap around him encouraged him to continue. "I do not have the ability to favor one of you above the others, you are all far too unique for that. I am proud of Leonardo's dedication and courage. I am proud of Donatello's ingenuity and kindness. I am proud of Raphael's determination and fierce loyalty. And you my son, I am very proud of you. You are compassionate and understanding and for your family you give your all, as do your brothers in their own ways."

He could feel tears soaking through his robe and into his fur but he ignored it. Nothing mattered more than the baby boy in his arms.

"My son, I love you. I am proud of you, of what you have accomplished and who you have grown to become. As your father I am here for you. Please, know you can come to me and speak of anything, important or not." He could hear Michelangelo sniffling into his chest. Splinter just continued to hold him gently. 

Quietly he heard his son murmur. "I love you too chichi."

Splinter let a tear of his own slip down his cheek. His son's haven't called him that in years. He planted a small kiss on the top of a freckled head.

"I want to talk..." Mikey pulled away a bit so he could look up at his father. "It's just...there's a lot to tell..."

"Then we shall start small." He wiped the young turtles tears away with the edges of his robe. "But not today, I have already learned much."

Mikey nodded, sniffing one more time and wiping his eyes vigorously, before heading out.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. I should be writing other things...
> 
> But TMNT was my first love. Still is.
> 
> And Mikey's my baby ;)


End file.
